<This post is out of date. The best first cards to get have changed>
So after much encouragement, one of my friends has finally decided to collect points! I’m so happy! It feels like my cat just had kittens. Anyway, I’ve decided to write a post for her that outlines some of the steps she (or you) would want to take when getting started in the points collection game.
In my world, there really is only one points currency, and that is Aeroplan. In some cases I’ll collect other points, but usually even those are transferred to Aeroplan in the end. So it’s no surprise that, based in part on my advice, her first card was the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinite card.
In fact, I’d encourage anyone to start with this card. The point bonuses change every few months, but regardless of what offer is on the table, the card is a great way to start, and offers many bonus earning opportunities over time. This is the card that I have used the longest and would be considered my “keeper” card.
So without further ado, here’s my list of things to do once you get your shiny new card:
How to start points collecting
- Confirm your Aeroplan account is associated with the card. Usually this happens during the application process, but you want to make sure there’s been no mistakes and all your spending is being recorded properly so you get all the points you deserve.
- Create a spreadsheet. To maximize points over time, you’ll eventually want to earn additional bonuses and the rules for each bonus typically include restrictions based on how long ago you received your last bonus. And considering you’ll likely end up with several cards open at once, it makes sense to get organized now. Create a simple spreadsheet and list the card name and when you activated it. Additionally, you may want to include things like how many points you’ll earn, the minimum spend amount, deadlines for that spend, annual fees, etc..
- Don’t cancel your existing credit cards just yet. Collecting large amounts of points invariably involves several credit card applications over time. It’s important to have an excellent credit rating to do this. Part of your credit score involves the “average age of accounts”. By keeping one or two cards that have been open for a long time, it will offset the new cards. If those cards have annual fees, you can ask the bank to switch them (without closing the account) to a card with no annual fee. If you’ve got a card that’s been open for 20 years, never cancel that! If all your cards are recent, then this new card is the perfect one to make your “keeper”.
- Use this new card for everything. The faster you can reach the minimum spend, the faster you can collect your bonus points and move on to the next thing that will earn bonus points. Many things you normally pay from a bank account can be paid from credit cards, such as phone bills and utilities. Of course, this card also pays bonus points for gas and groceries, so you’ll for sure want to do that. Once your minimum spend has been reached and you’ve spent a buffer amount (to prevent bonus claw-back in case of unexpected refunds) you’ll use whatever card earns the most points.
- Pay off your credit cards in full each month. I actually pay off my credit cards more than once a month. Another key credit score metric is account utilization, so by keeping the cards paid off, you’re raising your score in addition to saving interest costs.
- Convert the buddy pass. If your card was acquired during the promotion that offered a buddy pass, you’ll want to call Aeroplan and convert that to 30,000 bonus points. With the TD Aeroplan Visa Infinate card, the buddy pass isn’t given to you right away, rather, it’s credited to your Aeroplan account 2 months after you hit your minimum spend.
After you’ve received your bonus points, and after you’ve converted your buddy pass, AND after at least 6 months has passed since you activated the card (check your spreadsheet), you can perform one of the miracles of this card called “product switching”. You call them up or go into a branch and tell them you’d rather have a Cash Back card (specifically the one that has no annual fee) but that you don’t want to apply for a new card, rather you want to keep this account open but “switch” it to become a Cash Back card. They’ll do that. and then 7 months after that, you call them back and say you want to “switch” (don’t say “switch back”) to a TD Aeroplan Infinite Visa (the same card you started with). Because you’ll be getting this card more than 12 months after your first TD Aeroplan Infinite activation, you’ll qualify for the bonuses again! Rinse and repeat.
The great thing about product switching is that it happens without an inquiry to your credit bureau, which helps your credit (too many inquiries is bad) AND because your account number never changes during the “switch” the age of the account grows and grows, which again helps your credit. Because the bonuses usually include a “first year annual fee” rebate, this is a card you can collect vast quantities of Aeroplan points with over time, without it costing you a single penny beyond what you are spending on anyway.
The next step, is to acquire additional cards, but that’s a topic for another post.